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I would like to add the original from the 1860 Gardeners' Chronicle, of which at present HMF has the French translation from Revue des Jardins et des Champs of that year. But before I do, I would like to call attention to its statement that the rose in question had not heretofore been found, or at least found offered, in England; and I mention this because I have seen statements in modern books to the effect that the Green Rose originated in a small nursery in England, and that the Bambridge & Harrison firm which was long credited with its initial introduction was an English nursery. I find no trace of Bambridge & Harrison in England; neither do I find any listing for them in Ray Desmond's exhaustive Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturists.
For that matter, the existence at all of Bambridge & Harrison itself is an elusive thing which very much needs clarification. The first one sees of Harrison, alone, comes evidently in 1899; and "Baubridge" [sic] doesn't show up until 1902, both of these from French publications. What prompted the French mentions of Harrison, then Baubridge/Bambridge? What prompted the correction from "Baubridge" to "Bambridge"?
Be that as it may, here, as promised, from the Gardeners' Chronicle, vol. 20, September 22, 1860, p. 852, and one gathers by Lindley, who was the publication's editor, is the original article, sans italics and other typographical whimsicalities:
“There is to be found in French Rose Catalogues a certain R. Bengale verte, which we seek in vain in those of England. In the Prix Courant for 1857 of Guillot Père & Clement, of Lyons, mention is made of a certain Rosa Viridiflora, ‘à fleurs vertes, fl. moy., vert foncé, couleur du feuillage,’ first introduced into the world in the autumn of 1856, price 2 francs. Some thought this an apocryphal announcement; most believers formed an opinion of the new comer by no means complimentary; a very few resolved to judge for themselves. At last the infant has shown its face in various places between Ross-shire and London, and a very strange face it proves to be. Conceive a China Rose with every part bright green, deep on the outside, pallid in the middle. The calyx wholly unchanged; the five natural petals transformed into five small broad green leaves, and all the rest of the centre consisting of pale green staps of various degrees of narrowness, spreading evenly round the middle and forming a green star with innumerable points. Such is the Rose Bengale verte. Scent it has none, nor does it show even the feeblest inclination to exchange its verdure for a rosy hue. It is however quite regular in its form and greenness, no change having been remarked in it since the year of its birth. It is now a well-established 5-year-old with a fixed habit.
“It must be owned that a green-eyed monster like this is not inviting. Nobody except the lovers of curiosities would think of nursing it. Nevertheless it is a really important question whether out of such a beginning something beautiful may one day spring. That even is by no means improbable. Although misshapen, Bengale verte is not hopelessly barren. Upon turning over the folds of its flower we found in one instance two or three perfect ovaries with their style and stigma in a natural condition. Suppose some Rose with glowing colours could be persuaded to fertilize it. Seeds thus obtained would certainly exhibit some departure from its primitive features—maybe a great departure. And then, by the ordinary methods of breeding it may be expected that a new race would be secured. The experiment would cost nothing; and if successful would secure a rich reward. Will no fair gardener try? It is ladies’ work, and to those lovers of all that is new we commend it. How delightful it would be to find a young Rose with double flowers streaked with red and white and delicate green. If such a flower is to be found this Bengale verte points the way to it.” Gardeners’ Chronicle, vol. 20, September 22, 1860, p. 852.
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